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Preparation

Put a small shallow flameproof roasting pan in middle of oven and preheat oven to 400°F.

Pat duck dry and trim off any fat from sides. Score duck skin in a crosshatch pattern at 1/2-inch intervals with a sharp knife, then season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

Heat a heavy medium skillet (not nonstick) over medium-high heat until hot, then cook duck, skin side down, until golden brown and crisp, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook until other side is golden, about 2 minutes. Transfer to roasting pan and roast in oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally into center registers 135°F, 10 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 5 minutes. (Internal temperature will rise to at least 142°F.)

Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from roasting pan, then add oil and shallot and cook over medium heat, stirring, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add Port, then return to heat (Port may ignite) and cook, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 minute.

Remove from heat and stir in mustard and salt and pepper to taste. Add frisée, tossing to combine, and sprinkle with almonds. Serve duck with salad.

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Recent Reviews

Fast and easy. I doubled the sauce and tweaked it a little, added rosemary, a splash of white balsamic vinegar, and a teaspoon of fig jam that I happened to have. Overcooked the duck at ten minutes but it was very tasty. Added roasted potatoes with rosemary. My husband loved it.

ddnh from NH /

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Not that great...quite "simple" as in plain. Sauce was a bit sparse and not embellished enough. Cooking the duck as described worked to perfection, but little else was memorable. We did this on our "test" kitchen night but not add this to our repertoire.

HotelRindge from New Hamphire /

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This recipe makes an excellent weeknight meal. It is very fast and easy! The only thing is that I would have preferred more of a 'sauce' than what the recipe is structured for. Next time I will add a touch of stock with the port mixture.
In addition, I substituted sliced Tuscan kale as the store didn't have an frisée. Excellent!

BCcook from BC, Canada /

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I followed a previous poster's advice and used a cast iron pan to both sear and roast the duck breast. It was absolutely perfect.
I used the cold left overs in a soba salad.

A Cook from New York, NY /

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Delicious!
To simplify the cleanup, we used a cast-iron pan for the whole thing, from countertop to oven and back again.
Substitutions: Didn't have almonds, so we used hazelnuts--very nice. We used a Peking/Long Island duck breast, not Muscovy. And the store didn't have frisee or escarole, so we used chicory. It was really, really good. And as an added bonus, if you use chicory, you get to say "chicory," which is a funny word.